MEMORIAL PARK MASTER PLAN

Memorial Park is a beloved historic park within the Manhattan Heights neighborhood of El Paso. The 32 acre park features sidewalks, historic features, mature trees, open lawn space, a playground, library, aquatics facility, senior center, tennis courts, baseball fields, the rose garden, and a rentable area. The city hired a consultant team to assist in developing a Master Plan for the park that captures necessary updates and envisions improvements to the park, all driven by public process and community input.

About the Master Plan Project

*Master Plans are planning documents that guide implementation over a period of years as funding for those improvements become available.  Master Plans typically look like multi-page documents that outline analysis of a site's current conditions, community engagement that informs the process, and concept designs in plan form and sometimes renderings that graphically depict the potential for park improvements as guided by the community.

Funding that has been approved to date for Memorial Park is for the purposes of conducting the Master Plan process only. No funding for the implementation (construction) of improvements has been identified or discussed.

In what was initially a 25-acre undevelopable plot with poor soil and a hilly terrain, Memorial Park has evolved alongside the community for a century. The Memorial Park master plan was first developed in 1925 by George E. Kessler. Envisioned as a signature outdoor community gathering space, the plan proposed recreational amenities such as fields, a pool, and tennis courts along side natural amenities such as a lake, gardens and trails. The park has served the community for over 100 years. As it continues to serve the community, future improvements should balance the community needs with the historic integrity of the park to protect these important features, yet work to serve communities of the future.

The Master Plan for Memorial Park envisions restoring the landscape, preserving historical features, celebrating and telling the story of the park and it’s role in El Paso’s history, improving connections within the park, and improving and adding park amenities to better serve the community of today and the future.

Memorial Park - Final Master Plan

In this phase of the project process, we are looking for all members of the community who use or want to use Memorial Park to provide their thoughts and ideas regarding two proposed park concept plans. The input the community provides is used to drive the Master Plan* process and vision.

Memorial Park Master Plan Concept 1

Memorial Park Master Plan Concept 2

Memorial Park Master Plan Public Engagement - Round 2

Memorial Park - Existing Site Plan

Public Engagement Data

Community Engagement Event at the park

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Community Input

  • “Continue with the small lake area to continue until this bridge. Water could be recycled and could also be potentially used for irrigation.”

  • “Improve the walking paths and widen them so walkers and bikers and small kids with trikes can enjoy the park all the way around.”

  • “Widen the street a bit with sidewalk and parking.”

  • “Create more individual covered areas for picnics, bbqs, family gatherings.”

  • “Add a pedestrian bridge to safely connect the green spaces on either side of Copia.”

  • “Maybe add a sidewalk loop along the perimeter of the top of the park. Also, maybe adding a desert botanical garden with a variety of plants since water pressure is low up there.”

  • “A lot of the park attendees speed down Federal, maybe add some speed bumps. Or stop signs at the intersections.”

  • “Create a large covered area for gatherings - bring in musical concerts like we used to have at Memorial Park pre-covid, movie nights in the park, and weekly yoga and exercise events like they have at the Fountains.”

  • “Large shade canopy need over play ground equipment.”